Intervie ws
TESSA DRESSER CHARLOTTE BALAZS HEDI ARGENT Older Women’s Co-Housing Group
Age
77 years old, 64 years old, 88 years old
Profession
Retired GP, retired administrator, social worker
Role
Active participants and core residents
Scheme
Older Women’s Co-Housing Group, London’s first all-women senior co-housing development in the London Borough of Barnet, providing 25 housing units for women over fifty, completed in 2016
Tessa, Charlotte and Hedi live in London’s first all-female senior co-housing group. Having joined at different points in the development of the scheme, with differing professional and geographical backgrounds, these women are united in their belief of the benefits of living in a mutually supportive community. In the interview, they highlight how joining a community in older age was ultimately more important than its eventual location. Living closer together, they say, is both rewarding and challenging; beyond their well-considered protocols and policies, it requires retaining awareness and sensitivity to each other’s needs at all times.
LIV ING CLOSER 135